NCJ Number
89809
Date Published
1982
Length
49 pages
Annotation
This monograph describes the nature and functions of the office of district attorney in Wisconsin, compares prosecutorial systems in the 50 States, and summarizes 9 national studies on State prosecutorial systems.
Abstract
The overview of the Wisconsin attorney general's office covers eligibility, qualifications, election procedures, term of office, removal from office, compensation, duties, and restrictions on activities. It also specifies the support staff that a district attorney may appoint and details the roles of the county corporation counsel and the State Department of Justice. The section comparing State prosecutorial systems categorizes them according to three structural models: (1) central administration; (2) regulatory, in which significant regulatory or oversight power resides in the State government with the retention of local units and a State commitment to technical assistance; and (3) decentralized collegial, where there is coordination through statewide organizations of prosecutors themselves on a consensual basis with State provision of technical assistance. Most prosecutors are elected locally and not responsible to central State authority. Only Alaska, Delaware, and Rhode Island have completely centralized the administration of their prosecutorial systems, and 13 States have adopted the regulatory model. The system is organized according to the decentralized collegial model in the remaining States. The document surveys proposals offered by various organizations between 1931 and 1976 to improve the delivery of prosecutorial services. Most support the regulatory model. The appendixes provide descriptions of the prosecutorial systems in Alaska, Florida, Connecticut, Oklahoma, and Oregon.